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CHAIRMAN, 

JACOB HOLGATE AND HENRY HORN, 

SECRETARIES 

OF THE 

COMMITTEE OF SUFERIXTTEirDEirCE AND VIGIIiAlTCE, 

FOR THE 
CitY AND COUNTY OF PHILADELPHIA. 

IN REPLY 

TO 

JONATHAN ROBZSRTS, ESQ. 

BY JOHN H. EATON, Esq. 

OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 




PHILJiDELPHM: 

1826 



To Chandler Price, Chairman, Jacob Holgate and Henry Horn, 
Secretaries of the Committee of Superintendence and Vigilance, for 
the City and County of Philadelphia. 

The address lately presented by 3'ou to the public in favour 
of the election of Andrew Jackson, has awakened the attention 
of Mr Jonathan Roberts of vour state. He has ventured to 
present a reply, and by way of producing a stronger etlect, has 
accompanied his re-narks with his name. My object in address- 
ing you, is to aftbrd further explanation and greater certainty to 
the statements submitted by him, and to show, as 1 expect to do, 
most conclusively, that his entire production, must be, and in fact 
IS, the result of a deeply prejudiced mind ; for the reason, that in 
it there is nothing of truth. In such an undertaking it is but an 
act of justice to Mr. Roberts, that he should have my name, as 
well as my remarks ; and therefore are both presented, with per- 
mission for you to use them after whatever manner your discre- 
tion may dictate to be right. 

As early as the year 1819, while the famous Seminole cam- 
paign question was pending at the city of Washington, Mr. 
Roberts was found the earnest opponent of General Jackson, 
hurried to his conclusions then, through the same false reasoning 
by which he has been carried to the results he has arrived at in 
his late publication. I speak the things that 1 do know! At that 
period of his political history, a circumstance that cannot but 
appear strange, he was, and since has continued to be, the warm 
friend of Mr. Monroe, who was then President. Then was he 
not ignorant, that as well by previous acts, as by declarations 
repeatedly made, the President constantly maintained, that he 
desired no line of separation, or reference to aftairs in Florida, 
to be drawn between himself and Andrew Jackson. But more 
than this was known ! It was known to him, nor can it here be 
forgotten, that the Secretary of State, Mr. Adams, in an official 
dispatch to our Minister at Madrid, and which was laid before 
Congress, had proceeded to an elaborate defence of every step 
which the Commanding General had taken, and of every act he 
had performed during the prosecution of that war: acts, every 
one of which, was by the representatives of the nation in Con- 
gress, maintained, justified and defended. 

These things i allege were familiar to Mr. Roberts in 1819, 
nor can the recollection of them have faded from his memory now. 
Yet notwithstanding, his inventive mind was so far enabled to 
adopt distinctions, as to continue, all that time, the political advo- 



cate and friend of President Monroe, and subsequently of Presi- 
dent Adams, whilst against Jackson, whom both of them sustained, 
his mind has rankled from that to the present moment. If Jack- 
son was guilty of error in consequence of entering the territory 
of Florida, — for seizing on the posts of St. Marks and Pensacola; 
or what perhaps is more properly " the head and front of his 
offending" for the execution of Ambrister and Arbuthnot, those 
English emissaries, who had excited the Savages to the butchery 
and murder of our border settlers, then have Mr. Monroe and 
Mr. Adams fallen into precisely the same error, inasmuch as his 
acts were defended, and his course sustained by both these gen- 
tlemen. It is a fair consequence that the guilt of one, is the guilt 
of the others. Strange inconsistency then, that this Seminole 
aftair should have festered on his imagination for seven years; 
and that while Mr. Roberts finds nothing, in the vials of his 
wrath, too severe to be poured upon the head of Jackson, his 
mildest unction is ready to be bestowed on Mr. Adams who 
defended all that was done. I am indeed unable to scan the 
operation of the mind, if this circumstance, apart from others and 
Strong ones, which will be adduced, tends not to prove that some 
lingering prejudice has controlled the operation of his judgment : 
and that nothing of generous sentiment, and patriotic feeling had 
an influence in the course deemed proper by him to be pursued. 
There is another circumstance calculated to show the preju- 
dice of the mind, and the disposition that must have been enter- 
tained by Mr. Roberts, to distort and pervert the meaning of 
things. Addressing himself to the Committee, he remarks: 
" The intelligence of your candidate is certainly not pre-eminent, 
when his biographer claims merit for him for havihg retired from 
inferior stations, to make way for those who could be more use- 
ful : he resigned every civil station he ever held." 

There is more intended here, that at the first glance meets the 
mind. It is intended, that he resigned civil, never miUtarx/ ap- 
pointments ; and that he resigned them too from an admitted 
inability to perform the duties assigned ; which to him is evidence 
conclusive, that the people" should forbear to think of him for 
President of the United States. His Biographer is referred to, 
to prove the averment true. 

How far ftft-. Roberts has given a candid exposition, or such 
as he hoped would better tend to beguile or deceive, may be 
ascertained by reference to the Book itself, whence he pretends 
to have formed hi-; opinions. The language is this. '' Becoming 
tired of political lifi,', for the intrigues of which he declared him- 
self >m(|ualined, and having for two years voted in the minority 
in Congress [l7!)7-y0] he resigned after the first session his seat 



5 



in the benate.* To this measure he was strongly induced from 
a desire to make way for General Smith, who he conjectured in 
that capacity, would be able to render more important services 
to the government than himself. Immediately after his resigna- 
tion he was appointed one of the judges of the Supreme Court of 
the State. Sensibly alive to the difficult duties of the station 
distrusting his legal acquirements, and impressed with the <^reat 
mjury he might produce to suitors, by erroneous decisionl he 
advanced to the office with reluctance, and in a short time re- 
signed, leaving it open to those who he believed were better 
qualified than himself to discharge its intricate and important 
duties. Unambitious of those distinctions and honours, which 
young men are usually proud to possess, finding too that his cir- 
cumstances were not such as to permit his time and attention to 
be devoted to public matters, he determined to yield them into 
other hands, and to devote himself to agricultural pursuits." 
Such is the extract referred to, and such the materials seized 
upon by Mr. Roberts to show Jackson's want of qualification. 
Ihis modesty and distrust of mind which ever in early life has 
been considered the sure presage of talent and promise, is made 
a ground of reliance, to prove the want of merit. If this be 
argument. It is indeed a novel species of it. And yet it is argued 
that his intelligence is certainly not pre-eminent." And wiiy^ 
simply because at the age of thirty he declined two offices of hic^Ii 
and important character : offices which seldom or never are con- 
lerred on persons at so early a period of life ; and to one of which, 
none are by the constitution eligible until they attain to the age 
""^ ^''""^7-., ^l 's very true that General Jackson has resigned 
every civil office he ever held ; and if this be crime, there is at 
least one piece of good fortune attending it— it lies at the door of 
but few very few of her distinguished men : it is an example 
which few others, not even Mr. Roberts can say, has been fol- 
lowed closely. -^ 

Jackson was appointed minister to Mexico, which, with an 
acceptance of the appointment for one year only, would have 
placed in h.s possession at least $20,000. He declined it, which 
proves at least that he was neither sordidly disposed, nor vet a 
seeker after office. The reason of his refusal, though, as given 
by himself, that he would not aid by his presence the cause of 
an usurper [Iturbide] who had seized upon the government, 
places h.m on :ven higher, and more praise-worfhy ground. 

inTlT Vm J'u^^""^ J"'' ''^^ '" ^'^^ ^^"^^^ ^f ^he United States; 
and had Mr. Roberts been able to procure a thorough examina- 

firs*t 'SrTs'ent'atl^' fo^if ^ \T "^' """T '" ^^^^- J^'^^^"" ^^'^^ ^J^^ted the 
Td in iS re'^ in. K f' """' ^""^^eq^ently transferred to the senate; 

aiiu m i/ys resig'ned his appointment. 



tion of that part of the President's secret bureau, whence was 
obtained his private confidential correspondence relative to the 
Cabinet appointments, in 1817, it might have been ascertained, 
that he had declined even military, as well as civil trusts — that 
be declined under Mr. Monroe the appointment of Secretary of 
War. It will not surely be urged, that this is another evidence 
that " his intelligence is not pre-eminent ,•" because even his enemies 
concede to him " some grace" in milit;iry matters. There is 
likewise another part of secret untold history, which a close 
examination misjht have discovered, that he was desirous of retir- 
ing from the army, and of surrendering his commission of Major 
General, and was restrained from doing so, through the recjiiest 
of one who shared his friendship, and whose administration then 
near!} closed, he was desirous of aiding and supporting. His 
country freed from war, he was not solicitous of retaining even 
the rank and office of •' Military Chieftain," so often objected 
against him as a favourite hobby and pursuit. 

But what more did he do in his objectionable career of retir- 
ing from office — from public to private life? He resigned the 
office of Governor of Florida, the salary of which was equal to 
that of the Vice President of the United States, while the pow- 
ers appurtenant to the office by the act of Congress, were even 
greater than those which, by the constitution of this country, the 
President himself could exercise. Whatever of authority could 
be claimed Ijy the Captain General of Cuba was conceded to 
Jackson — an authority in which every right of sovereignty, civil 
and military, executive and judicial, were coml)ined and center- 
ed. Yet even this office, of sufficient importance certainly for 
any want, if ambition iMllucnced him, he retained no longer than 
the country was received and the government organised. These 
done, he surrendered the office, having declared previoirsly that 
the powers which were attached to it were such as should be 
yielded into the hands of none. The language employed by him 
is this : " / am clothed nulk poroers 7r/u'c/^ no one under a Rcpnhlic 
onght to possess^ and zohich I trust loill never again be given to any 
man.'' Ambition should be made of sterner siufi" than this. And 
he who with such circumstances and information standing before 
him, can yet impute ambition and selfishness, must either be re- 
gardless of assertion, or else directed by personal dislike and 
prejudice. If Mr. llobcrts does not admire the character of 
Gen. .Jackson, or entertains towards him any thing of animosity, 
no matter whether well or ill founded, that is his, not the busi- 
ness of others. Or if, indeed, he cannot reconcile to hin)self the 
idea that he should be the President of this Union, but prefers an- 
other, it is a right wliirli ho witli every other man possesses. It 
is a birth-right, an indulgence for which our father? fought, and 



for which Jackson himself has in two wars contended. For the 
exercise, frankly, of this privilege, none will, because none has 
a right to complain. The exception as it relates to Mr. Roberts 
consists in this, that well knowing the facts and circumstances 
about which he wrote, or being ignorant of them, should have 
heen silent, he has proclaimed as true, those things which are 
altogether the reverse of truth ; and this assertion I shall main- 
tain and prove, to the satisfaction of the most incredulous; to 
the satisfaction of those, prejudiced even to the extent that he 
himself is prejudiced. Unlike him, I am no volunteer in this 
controversy. 1 am doing that only, which, under such circum- 
stances, would become the duty of any and every one, seeking, 
because of information possessed, to ward off the effect of impu- 
tation from one whose name and reputation, so far from being 
assailed, ought to be considered national stock, the property of 
the country. 

It certainly should not be supposed, that a gentleman of Mr. 
Roberts's character would attach his signature to any inaccurate 
statement ; nor should it be held a reasonable presumption, that 
in volunteering himself against a man of Jackson's merited stand- 
ing, he would indulge opinions in reference to any matter, which 
his mind had not accurately scanned, and particularly examined. 
Yet that the fact is otherwise, will be clearly shown. Anony- 
mous writers can claim larger scope and greater license, because 
responsibility for the accuracy of statements is not felt. But 
when a gentleman appears before the public, and by the sanc- 
tion which a respectable name affords, attempts to sustain his 
averments, respect for himself, and what is of no less importance, 
a regard for truth, should admonish him to be at least accurate 
and particular in his facts. Assertion is easy to be made; there 
is no difficulty in the effort; but to assert is one thing, to prove 
the assertion true, another, and a different one. 

And here I admit myself to be the friend and advocate of Gen. 
Jackson, and of his election; and if this admission shall be of 
any service in throwing around the statements 1 shall offer, aught 
of suspicion or doubt, those who, from such a cause, shall be dis- 
posed to question them, are welcome, quite welcome, to all the 
benefit the concession may afford. J have known him long; and 
if vanity will pardon the assertion, may add, 1 have known him 
intimately and well. It is this that has induced me (o admire 
the man, and to desire that he should be placed at the helm of 
this country's affairs. Nor is the preference thus produced, the 
result of any motives of person, as appertaining lo himsell': they 
flow from a higher soui-ce, and from a more praiseworthy con- 
sideration. They flow from a desire to see (hat man in the 
management of our affairs, whose plain habits, republican fitness. 



8 

untiring vigilance, proverbial firmness, and devotion to the cause 
and interest of his country in times of greatest peril, place him 
on higher ground than any other man living; and induce a be- 
lief, that more than any other, he is calculated to inspire confi- 
dence through our land, and to restore good feelings. Enter- 
taining these sentiments, which are addressed from acquaintance, 
a knowiodge of the man, it will ever afford me pleasure, when 
possessed of the means of doing so, to repel any erroneous im- 
putations that may be urged to his prejudice. 

In this burnished essay of Mr. Roberts, censure, with an illiberal 
and unsparing hand, is bestowed upon Jackson, while cheerfully 
the writer seems to lend himself the eulogist of the President 
and of Mr. Clay. Taste cannot be questioned ! With neither 
of ^hese gentlemen, in the inquiry submitted for examination, 
have I any thing to do ; against them nothing to urge. Jackson 
requires not to be sustained on the defamation or abuse of any. 
If his merits be incompetent to the end, then let him fail. De- 
feated upon this ground, consolation and pride will be left, while 
to he successful through the example set by Mr. Roberts, the 
abuse and traducement of others, would be inglorious. 

My object is to meet the presented essays, this uncalled-for 
volunteer^ so far only as it relates to him whom it was intended 
to denounce, not those whom it w^as designed to commend : yet 
it cannot but appear strange and inconsistent too, that, while the 
writer, with unbecoming freedom, deals harshly in expression 
against Jackson, he should at the same time manifest for the 
President, and his particular friend, so great feeling, as to threat- 
en the possibility that " they maj' call you (the committee) to 
the proof of what you assert against them." He should have 
borne in mind, that at present this country is without the brnefit 
of a sedition law ; and that even if it were not, he yet might have 
recollected, that under it, the truth could be given in evidence ; 
a provision which would throw around the Philadelphia com- 
mittee a shield and a protection, which in vain might be resorted 
to in defence of any thing contained in the reply presented by 
him to the consideration of the public. 

The charges and inductions of the writer, as to want of merit, 
temper, passion, military chieftain, " with aw that and aw that," 
need not be attended to: they do not deserve attention. All 
these things being matter of opinion and private thought, and 
they arc nothing more or less, have, over and over again, from 
former pens, been submitted to the consideration of the people 
of this country, with precisely the effect they merited, to wit, 
none at all ! ! If the wielding to happiest success, a suffering, 
and consc(|nently dispirited army, comjiosed almost exclusively 
of citizen soldiers ; if the drawing together the most incongruous 



9 

materials that ever did compose an army, and rendering them 
effective against disciplined and well-trained troops, be not one 
of the highest evidences of genius and talents, then is the mind 
without any thing to indicate its fitness and strength, its capacity 
for exertion. To be informed upon any one subject, affords no 
evidence of mental strength and power; nor furnishes the means 
of determining upon capacity, except in reference to the particu- 
lar matter itself; and for the reason, that the information pos- 
sessed may alone proceed from application to that particular 
matter. But when an individual is found a gallant young soldier 
at fifteen years of age ; a lawyer of respectability and promise 
at twenty-two; a judge of the Supreme Court in his State, re- 
spected and confided in ; a senator in Congress, listened to and 
regarded with attention ; (his first appointment of senator being 
before he was thirty-one, immediately that he was eligible;) fill- 
ing, indeed, every office he ever held, to (he entire satisfaction 
of those who had conferred it on him ; and when, lastly, he is 
found in the field and in the forest, at the head of an army cre- 
ated by himself, contending successfully, with brave enemies, and 
through means only which his own inventive mind could supply : 
when this picture is looked to, incredulity even is compelled to 
recognise in it, not merely the evidences of genius and mind, but 
of serious reflection, sound thought, strength of investigation, and 
accuracy of conclusion. 

These things show an implicit popular confidence reposed on 
the part of Jackson's merit; a devotion to his country and to her 
interests, and a well-founded claim to her gratitude in return, 
certainly not to abuse and insult. How strange, under all the 
circumstances, that censure should sedulously be hunted after to 
be urged against him : and stranger still, that it should proceed 
from one, who, having shared liberally of that same country, 
ought unquestionably to be able to judge more dispassionately, 
and certainly with greater candor and accuracy. In despite 
though of these considerations, and opposing proofs, Mr. Roberts, 
of whose military knowledge and prowess none has ever heard, 
claims a right to decide ; nay, does decide, that Jackson " is of 
military growth entirely," and that nature must change before a 
nation's peace could be secure in the hands of such a man. 
Then, because he has been a faithful and successful General, he 
is to be excluded, for this is the amount of the argument. In 
virtue of the principles on which our government is based, by 
any and every one, may any and every office in it be aspired to ; 
a gallant and successful defender of the country, alone, excepted. 
That general, who meets the enemy and is vanquished — who at 
every step finds disaster and disgrace, may avoid thereby the 
opithet of '^military chieftain," and be esteemed worthy to be 



10 

confickd in ; but he who spends toilson>e days and sleepless 
nights; who guards with caution the safety and lives of his 
troops, brings them off victorious from every field of battle, and 
at last, by high and daring effort, gives lustre and deliverance 
to his country, is to stand where no other citizen does, proscribed 
from office. If such shall ever become the established doctrine 
in this country, in some future war, when desolation and ruin 
and subjugation threaten, we may have cause for repentance. 
For who will march, and risk his life for the defence of his coun- 
try when her deliverance and safety eflected, through his valor, 
*' a common virtue amongst men,"" that shall be relied on to place 
him on the list of proscribed citizens, to exclude him frem that 
road to honor and office, in which all others have a right to move, 
Not only is the doctrine ridic4alous, but it is dangerous, wich 
moi'c dangerous to the liberties of this country than any " mili- 
tary chieftain" ever can be ; and incalculably great will be its 
mischiefs, if any sanction from the people shall ever give it cur- 
rency. 

I come now to a consideration of that part of Mr. Roberts's 
address which contains charges against the standing and cha- 
racter of General Jackson, with the reasons which have induced 
him to stand forth in opposition. They are wholesome and good, 
Avere they only true. If he is not under the government of pre- 
judice, if he shall be disposed to make reason and fact and fair 
inference, the touchstone between us, then shall 1 not distrust my 
ability to make even a convert of himself. 

The first subject which presents itself for consideration, is the 
disrespect manifested by General Jackson for the laws of the 
Country at New Orleans, and rohich consequently " drew upon hint 
a heavy Jine properly imposed.^'' Such is the language of Mr. Jona- 
than Roberts, who has been always considered as attached to 
the Republican School of that state, whose opinions on the Presi- 
dential election, he would now gladly control and alter. If the 
presented charge be true, 1 readily concede it shall have weight. 
If Andrew Jackson when clothed with authority, outraged the 
laws of the Comitry, and from mere wantonness trampled under 
foot the liberty of the citizens, then freely as any other, shall I 
impute to him, not rashness merely, but a want of good sense and 
judgment besides, and shall not hesitate to unite with any partj', 
to stay his advance to ollice. But if on the other hand, the 
charge shall be found misconceived — witho^jt any authority 
whatever by which to sustain it, then will it be proper to re(]uire 
of those who have urged it, as a prominent ground of objection, 
to make a surrender of the opinions they have so erroneously 
entertained, and at the shrine of truth and justice, to yield their 
opposition. 



11 

After all that has been said in reference to the declaration 6f 
Martial law at New Orleans, I had not supposed that there was 
an intelligent man in the Country, who, although he might by 
the rigid rules of strict construction conceive it to be error, would 
not admit at the same time the strong, the great necessity there 
was for its adoption. None has ever pretended that it was not a 
departure from the strict principles of the constitution. Jackson 
himself never urged a different opinion, or indeed entertained 
any different one. He never pretended to any thing beyond a 
Justification of the act, on the ground of extreme — of urgent ne- 
cessity; a necessity which held in doubtful poise, whether the 
constitution should be partially departed from, or the invaders of 
his country prove successful It was one of those strong and 
imposing pleas, which controlled by no rule, rises superior to all 
law; and which not unfrequently excuses the hand that reeks 
itself, even in a brother's blood. 

Let it not be rephed, that I am an advocate for individuals in 
power, to claim any departure from the constitution, which their 
sense of right may hold to be proper, and then to urge some 
seeming necessity as a defence. 1 press no such broad and 
general principle. 1 argue on the facts of the case only which 
are now before me, and maintain that language, which hundreds 
— nay thousands before have held, that, situated as Jackson was 
at New Orleans, he ought not to have cleaved to the constitution, 
and lost the Country. One or the other was unavoidable — not 
to be prevented. They were mighty evils presenting themselves 
to the view ; a choice of one or the other was necessary to be 
made, and promptly, and without hesitation, he decided on that 
which he would adopt — on the course he would pursue. If by 
the tax police of his camp, spies could have ascertained and com- 
municated to the enemy his situation — the strength of his army, 
and the varied materials that composed it, who cannot perceive 
the advantages that such information would have afforded ; and 
although the city in the end, might have been preserved, yet 
what an immense destruction of our troops might too, have been 
consequent on the result. But agreeably to the theory and 
opinion of Mr. Roberts, the adopted course was wrong; it would 
by his standard, have been better, even that our brave soldiers 
should have perished on the memorable plains of New Orleans, 
than that the civil rights of the citizens should have been dis- 
turbed. Away with such beliefs! They are too refined— too 
setherial ! They are such, as should they ever becowie fashiona- 
ble, may in some after times of peril, prove the destruction of the 
liberty of this Country. I would that every ministerial agent — 
aye and executive one too, should look to the constitution, not 
merely with respect and regard, but with reverence and awe, yet 



12 

when invasion threatened angrily, and the lives of our citizens 
are at peril, I should not hesitate to condemn him, who would 
pause an instant between " want of respect for the laws and a 
heavy fine" or the safety of those whom he defended. Like the 
Mariner, in pressing to his destined port, through aid of some 
well known light, 1 would that in pleasant weather he should 
mark every bearing, and with rigid caution observe every thing 
of course, of distance, and of point ; yet should a storm arise, 
and threaten to dash his vessel amidst the rocks, and breakers, 
putting the helm down to whatever haven promised safety and 
deliverance from the danger, I would he should seek to gain it, 
regardless of the olden tract which pilots and well established 
rules had directed. To determine by a smooth sea, what things 
may be necessary in a perilous storm, is most absurd. As well 
might a man in moment of cool reflection, decide what he would 
do, when directed by a violence of passion, which his judgment 
was incompetent to control. The calculating statesman in his 
closet, now that all is ended, can nothing know of the uneasiness, 
the disquietude and trouble — the danger which every where 
hung upon the invasion of Orleans ; and still less can any accu- 
rate estimate be made of them, by that man, whose mind may be 
infected by bitter prejudice. 

Of the difliculties that surrounded the commandinggeneral, and 
the promptness with which he met the emergencies of that event- 
ful period, much heretofore has been advanced, although its dif- 
fusion has been too limited, to prevent even at this day perverted 
and garbled accounts from obtaining currency and circulation. 
By some they have been misconceived through want of all the 
attendant facts •, while others have been influenced from motive 
and design — from a disposition to deceive Mr. Roberts is of the 
latter description ; and in saying so, I feel that 1 am hazarding 
nothing, at least, as regards the probable proof. He came into 
the Senate, a member, March, 1815, directly after the war had 
closed, and when every newspaper, teemed with official informa- 
tion as to events which had just passed. It is by no means then 
a reasonable inference that he could remain in ignorance of those 
leading facts in the history of his country. Such an inference 
would be to him, as unreasonable, as it would be disrespectful to 
his intelligence. Was he ignorant of them? He should have 
refrained from writing! Did he possess an intimate knowledge? 
Still worse, then has he practised perversion. He must, he did 
know all the circumstances, then is he highly culpable for ascrib- 
ing that course to a want of " rc.^jfc/ /or the lawb\'''' which was 
imposed by a necessity as strong as ever operated upon the feel- 
ings and judgment of any man. 

That the constitution was preserved entire, and unmolested, 



13 

none has ever maintained. With this admission, let the circum- 
stances and the danger which hung around that eventful period 
of our history be looked to, and then, be the decision pronoun- 
ced, if propriety did not rather sanction, then oppose the course 
pursued. The danger over, and the enemy gone, Jackson was 
on an attachment issued by the Judge, arraigned before the court, 
and a fine of ^1000 imposed, because of the declaration of mar- 
tial law. To that decision he yielded without a murmur, and 
paid the fine assessed against him, without complaint. To de- 
termine, under what circumstances of pressing necessity, the 
civil authorities had been suspended, can be better understood 
by reference to what transpired at the time. Let the answer 
submitted by General Jackson to the court, in opposition to the 
attachment, and in defence of the course he had taken, be re- 
ferred to, and while it pourtrays in lively, the accurate colours, 
his own and the situation of the country, it shows also, that the 
posture of affairs there, were critical, difficult and dangerous. 
The language he employed as having induced him to the decla- 
ration, is this. 

" A disciplined and powerful army was on our coast, com- 
manded by officers of tried valor, and consummate skill : their 
fleet had already destroyed the feeble defence on which alone 
we could rely to prevent their landing on our shores. Their 
point of attack was uncertain ; — a hundred inlets were to be 
guarded, by a force not sufficient in number for one. We had 
no lines of defence. Treason lurked amongst us, and only 
waited the moment of expected defeat, to show itself openly. 
Our men were few, and of those few not all were armed. Our 
prospect of aid and supply were distant and uncertain; our utter 
ruin, if we failed, at hand and inevitable : every thing depended 
on the prompt and energetic use of the means we possessed, — on 
calling the whole force of the community into action. It was a 
contest for the existence of the State, and every nerve was to be 
strained in its defence. No delay, — no hesitation, — no enquiring 
about rights, or all was lost ; and every thing dear to man, his 
property, life, the honour of his family, his country, its constitu- 
tion and laws were swept away by the avowed principles, the 
open practice of the enemy, with whom we had to contend. 
Fortifications were to be erected, supplies procured, arms sought 
for, requisitions made, the emissaries of the enemy watched, 
lurking treason overawed, insubordination punished, and the con- 
tagion of cowardly example to be stopped." 

" In this crisis, and under a fair persuasion that none of those 
objects could be effected by the exercise of the ordinary powers 
confided, — under a solemn conviction that the country committed 
to his care, could be saved by that measure only from utter ruin, 



14 

■—under a religious belief that he was performing the most im- 
portant and sacred duty, he proclaimed martial law. He thought 
at such a moment constitutional forms must be surrendered ior ihe 
permanent preservation of constitutional rights ^ and that there 
could be no question whether it were best to depart for a moment 
from the enjoyments of our dearest privileges or have them 
wrested from us forever. He well knew if the civil magistrate 
were permitted to exercise their usual functions, none of the 
measures necessary to avert the awful fate that threatened us, 
could be expected," &c. &c. &,c. 

From this picture drawn as every actor of that period well 
knows, with fidelity and accuracy, let the intelligent mind deter- 
mine if the ancient maxim, that laws must be departed from in 
war, even had circumstances presented, to warrant more strongly 
the exercise and application of the rule. 

At this period of the enquiry then, for reasons already sub- 
mitted, we have the civil authority superceded, and in its place, 
the laws of war established. Any person who before had not 
heard of this affair, might now naturally begin to enquire, what, 
and how many, were the acts of oppression and tyranny, to which 
the rule gave birth ; for it cannot but appear a matter of sur- 
pl'ise, if upon a subject so frequently spoken of, and written about 
clamorously and angrily, it shall on examination turn out, that 
under its provisions and operations, no act of oppression or in- 
justice was witnessed. It is for Mr. Roberts then to disclose the 
mighty sequel, and to declare amidst the diihcultics and dangers 
of that period, and the thousands who were subjected to the 
operation of this martial law declaration, how vast the number 
was that fell under its denunciations, or that in consequence of 
it felt the stroke of oppression. Fearful of trusting to his candor, 
I will answer for him. A member of the legislature was arrest- 
ed and tried for the offence with which he stood charged, and 
was acquitted. What the nature of the offence was, and how, 
and wherefore he came to be discharged, may be found in the 
Life of Jackson, last edition, and in these words : 

"Louillier was detained under guard, and brought before a 
court martial, of which General Gaines was President. For the 
reason, however, that the inflammatory and mutinous publication 
which had occasioned his arrest, could not be shown to have 
been conveyed to the enemy, he was acquitted : the quo animo 
being from this circumstance in the proof not sutlkiently appa- 
rent!" 

Under the operation of this martial law too. Judge Hall was 
arrested, but he was neither tried, nor imprisoned. He was 
merely sent beyond the line of encampment, to that point ot 
safety, where all along he had reposed, during the time the enc- 



15 

my remained before ihe city, with this order signed by Jackson, 
and directed to be placed in his possession. " I have thought 
proper to send you beyond the limits of my encampment, to pre- 
vent a repetition of the improper conduct with which you have 
been charged. You will remain without the line of my sentinels 
until the ratification of peace is regularly announced, or until the 
British shall have left the Southern Coast." 

Here is a concise and accurate outline of this often decryed 
war measure, and of those acts which under it took place. A 
member of the legislature, the author of a violent and inflam- 
matory publication, which introduced mutiny into the army, and 
caused many to abandon their posts and their duty, is arrested, 
put upon his trial, and acquitted ; while a Judge of the United 
States Court in that district, for an attempt to arrest the law in 
its penalty, is politely required to retire beyond the line of en- 
campment; not to punish, but in the language of the order, to 
" prevent a repetition of improper conduct." The Judge himself, 
under the same plea of necessity, had omitted to hold the term 
of his court : for the same reason he had consented to have dis- 
charged men, who were " indicted for capital crimes, without 
bail and without recognizance ;" and had, moreover, during the 
siege, retired twelve miles beyond the city. When the enemy 
departed, Judge Hall returned. Then it was, that, interposing 
his civil functions, in behalf of one who had by his publications, 
sown disaffection in the army, he was ordered to retire to the 
place at which he had previously reposed, and to remain with- 
out the line of sentinels. These are the only two cases to which 
this martial law measure gave birth, and about which such cla- 
mor has been raised, and such censure and reproach heaped 
upon the head of Jackson. Under its provisions none were op- 
pressed, none injured. And if they had been, sufficient repara- 
tion would have been found in this, that by it the country was 
protected and saved from pillage, rapine, and plunder. 

This is the narrative, and this the great disrespect for the 
laws, to which JVJr. Roberts in his publication adverted. Is there 
any thing more? Yes! So soon as the enemy had retired, and 
peace been proclaimed, the Judge caused Jackson to appear be- 
fore him for a contempt, and subjected him to a fine of j^lOOO. 
The privilege of being heard by himself or counsel, was denied 
him. It might be inferred that a rash man, such as Jackson is 
so frequently represented to be — one who, according to Mr. 
Roberts's account, manifested such disrespect to the laws, would 
have gotten somewhat out of temper, at being refused permission 
to be heard in his defence; and moreover being at the head of 
an army, flushed with victory, that he might have altogether dis- 
regarded the Judge and his ra^andate. It was surely an ample 



16 

field for disregard and want of respect for both the law and its 
ministers, if such had been his proneness. Then, nothins; of the 
imagery of office, actual or in expectancy, was before him, to 
control the natural tendency of feelings. He was simply Gen. 
Jackson, the defender of his country, and the restorer of that 
honour, which before had been lost to her. Yet, when this ju- 
dicial examination was in progress, and when the clamors of the 
crowd became so great, as to awaken the fears of the Judge, and 
to induce an order from him to the Marshal, to adjourn the court, 
what was then the conduct of this man esteemed so passionate 
and rash? Addressing the bench, he expressed a desire that his 
order might be withdrawn, and the business before him brought 
to a close ; and then said, " there is no danger here ; there shall 
be none. The same arm that protected from outrage this city, 
against the invaders of the country, vsill shield and protect this 
court, or perish in the effort.'''' The effect of this declaration was 
to tranquilize the feelings of the Judge, and the trial proceeded. 

When the prosecution had ended, in consequence of the man- 
ner of its termination, passion in its most angry form arose, 
threatening violence to that authority, which had acted with se- 
verity against him who had emphatically been styled the deliv- 
erer of the country. What did he do ? Did he seek to excite 
and to encourage those feelings of resentment, which were fast 
swelling in every bosom ? Far from it ! So fearful was he of 
the consequences to which the excitement might tend, that amidst 
the tumult he arose, and addressing himself to the crowd, by that 
means arrested the impending danger. Here is the language 
which on that occasion he employed. Let Mr. Roberts decide, 
if it prove what he has asserted, a disrespect for the laws. From 
the court room he was seized, and on the shoulders of the peo- 
ple borne with acclamations; a carriage was met with in the 
street, whence the horses were removed, Jackson placed in it, 
and hurried to the coffee-house, surrounded by an immense 
throng, huzzaing, and menacing violently the Judge. At this 
moment, and under such a state of violent excitement, he 
manifested his great disrespect for the lav:s, by addressing himself 
to the people as follows : 

" If you entertain the least gratitude for my services, or regard 
personally for me, you can evince it in no way so satisfactorily 
as by assenting, as I most cheerfully do, to the decision that has 
just been pronounced against me. The civil is the i>ara,mount 
and supreme authority of the land. I have never pretended to 
any thing else, nor advocated a different doctrine. 1 had to de- 
part from its rules, because they were too feeble for the state of 
the times. I3y resOrtiiig to martial law, 1 succeeded in defending 
•ind protecting a country which, without it must have been lost; 



17 

yet, under its provisions, / have oppressed no one, nor extended 
them to any other purpose than defence and safety : objects 
which its declaration was intended, alone, to effect. 1 feel sen- 
sible of your personal regard manifested towards me, and with 
pleasure remember those high efforts of valor and patriotism, 
which so essentially contributed to the defence of the country. 
If recent events have shown you what ft urless valor can effect, 
it is a no less important truth to learn, that submission to the civil 
authority, is the first duty of a citizen. Imperious circumstances 
compelled me, either to jeopardize the important interest confid- 
ed to me, or to take upon myself the responsibility of those 
measures which have been termed high handed ; but which were 
absolutely essential for defence. Thus situated I did not hesi- 
tate — I could not ! I risked all consequences, and you have seen 
me meet the penalty of my aggression, and bow with submission 
to the sentence of the law. If the oftencewith which 1 am charg- 
ed had not been committed, the laws by which I am punished 
would not have existed. I rejoice in their safety and maintain- 
ance, although the first indication of their violated supremacy, 
has been evinced in the punishment of myself. The order and 
decorum you have manifested, under circumstances of strong 
excitement, merits my warmest acknowledgments. I pray you 
permit that moderation to continue. If you have any regard for 
me, you will not do otherwise than yield respect to the justice of 
the country, and to the character of its ministers : that feeling 
and disposition will I hope always characterize you, and evince 
on your part as firm a disposition to maintain inviolate and unim- 
paired the laws of the country, as you have recently show^n to 
defend yourself against invasion and threatened outrage." 

These sentiments, after he had ceased to speak, being by one 
of his Aids translated into the French language, tranquillity and 
good order forthwith succeeded. 

My object in this communication, (designed for the informa- 
tion of the public.) l-eing rather to preserve, than to weary the 
patience of any, I shall venture to take as admitted, that the first 
charge exhibited by Mr. Roberts against General Jackson, to 
wit: a zvant of respect for the laws at Nero Orleans, has been fully 
met, answered, and disproved. His motives for hazarding an 
assertion so palpably erroneous, belongs not to me to enquire 
about. 

But another objection and one which presses heavily on the 
mind of Mr. Roberts, is, that Neil Cameron, a soldier in Jack- 
son's division, " was put to death without the form of trial, and 
his body left unburied, a prey to Vultures." The evident inten- 
tion here, was to impress a belief that the general himself was 
the cause of the deed being done, or else why did Mr. Roberts 

3 



18 

ofter a mere assertion ? Why did he not state by whom it had 
been done, and the circumstances in relation to it fully and fairly : 
again is a further evidence afforded of the dread prejudice which 
infests his mind. And is Andrew Jackson by some new fashioned 
system of ethics to be held responsible for every thing that hap- 
pened in his division ? Benedict Arnold was a traitor, and secretly 
practised treason in General Washington's division ; and so too, 
within that same division, was Major Andre arrested and execu- 
ted as a spy ; but did any body, at that period of our history ; or 
has any one since, considered it necessary to hold Washington 
accountable for those acts ; and yet he should be held accountable 
precisely as Jackson should be for the death of Cameron. But he 
was not killed in Jackson's division ; it is a misstatement on the 
part of Mr. Roberts, and one which he must have known to be 
incorrect at the time he made it. Cameron was killed in Florida 
— within the territory of Spain, and within fifteen miles of Pensa- 
cola, on the IGth of September, IGIS, three years before it was 
attached to the United States, and consequently at the time re- 
ferred to, formed no part of the military division of this country. 

Cameron, who was a deserter, was shot by orders of Colonel 
King. Subsequently King was arrested ; and the execution of a 
soldier, without trial, was one of the charges preferred against 
him on his trial. He was suspended for five years, and last year 
died. Pray then who was culpable in this business but Colonel 
King himself. Jackson was not present — was not in that section 
of country ; and in fact, not nearer to the transaction than Nash- 
ville, a distance of four hundred miles. I know of no rule, by 
which to render one man lial^le and answerable for the misdeeds 
of another, when he is absent — ignorant of what is about to be 
done, and wholly without the means of preventing it. As well 
might a judge be held responsible for every crime committed in 
the range of his circuit. 

I intend not to enter into any formal discussion of this matter, 
because it is not necessary. Whether it forms any excuse for 
Colonel King, that he was in a foreign country and in presence 
of a force that might speedily have been converted into an 
active enemy, does not pertain to the present inquiiy. That was 
matter for the court which passed his conduct in review before 
them. It is enough that he was punished by a competent tribu- 
nal. There let it rest. My objection lies in this, that Mr. 
Roberts has no well founded right to hold General Jackson an- 
swerable for the acts of others ; and when he seizes hold on such 
circumstances, to produce against him unfavourable impressions 
in the public mind, it is but further evidence of the prejudice 
under which he is labouring. Mr. Roberts was a member of the 



19 

Senate in the winter of 1818-19, when all and every thing rela 
ting to the Seminole war was discussed and examined in Con- 
gress. He well knew the trial of Colonel King took place in 
1821, and that subsequently the proceedings of the court were 
published. With this information before him, he must have 
known, and did know, that Cameron was shot near to Pensacola 
in the territory of Florida, and not in Jackson's division, as he 
has asserted. And even if it had been in his division, he was no 
more liable for it, than was General Washington for the treason 
of Arnold ; or than a judge would be for the crimes committed in 
his circuit, whose powers extended merely to the punishing for 
offences committed, not to the preventing them. 

I may be content here to stay any further enquiry, and leave 
the accuracy of the remaining charges contained in the address 
of Mr. Roberts, to be determined by what has already been pre- 
sented. But my design is to show, that every thing he has urged 
is alike untenable and unfounded. With this view I proceed to 
a consideration of the other points of attack which stand before 
the public, under the sanction of his name ! Wonderful prejudice! 
He will leave to Jackson nothing — not even the humble merit 
of having defended his country; of saving her from pillage and 
outrage. It was " Mr. Monroe's extraordinary exertions, with 
Mr. Madison's co-operation, that prepared the defensive force for 
New Orleans, and urged General .Jackson to repair there." Such 
is the language of Mr. Roberts, such the accusation he prefers. 

This truly is a new discovery in the history of our country; 
and as every author possesses an ambition, that his facts should 
be accurate, however badly they may be thrown together, it is 
not unreasonable to ask, that he should direct an uninformed com- 
munity to the data whence his opinions were formed. They are 
not in the Department of War, 1 well know. From Mr. Monroe, 
they were not obtained ; for however efficient his services may 
have been, during our recent contest, he would not, to benefit 
himself, pluck a single leaf from that civic wreath, which he well 
knows Jackson wove for himself, still less for the sake of aiding 
another, amidst difficulties which he alone had to encounter and 
subdue. "Render unto Cesar, that which is Cesar's;" and let 
Mr. Madison and Mr. Munroe, claim every honour and right that 
is theirs. 1 would not sully, or take a single one away; yet to 
ascribe to either of them an}'- portion of the efforts made at New 
Orleans, or the means of defence resorted to, is to tender ihe-n 
those things, which they have too much magnanimity to acccp'., 
Such was not the language at the close of the war; and truth will 
not sustain it now. By those two distinguished indivi'"- 'r.^ 
nothing then" was claimed. The whole country had aw iiueu 
whatever meed of praise was due to Jackson. If then Mr. Ro~ 



20 

berts, after a lapse of ten years would change this order of things, 
something more than assertion must be necessary, and will be 
required of him. 

I have already said, that never was an army composed of 
more discordant materials, than that which made up the defence 
of Louisiana; with the exception of the 7th and 44th regiments, 
amounting to about 700 men, there were volunteer militia, and 
drafted militia, black troops, and white troops, Americans, 
Frenchmen and Spaniards; Sailors and Landsmen, all mixt to- 
gether, and constituting the strength of our army. To give direc- 
tion and efficiency to these — so to arrange this discordant mass, 
as that it should be blended, and every thing of pride, of feeling, 
of colour and interest, so happily arranged, that harmony and 
eftcct should he attained, was certainly no easy eflbrt, and cannot 
be ascribed to any who were distant 1000 miles from the place 
of action. Selecting the most defensible points, and day and 
night toiling to have them placed in readiness for resistance; 
untiring perseverance, and a confidence and severity that inspired 
with serenity and resolution every bosom, could, likewise, belong 
not to any who was absent from the scene. So far as merit may 
be claimed for these things, or that any thing of benefit has re- 
sulted from them, it will certainly not be insisted on for those 
who were far distant from the place where the etfect was pro- 
duced. 

I admit that men, arms and money are the sinews of war ; and 
whenever a general embarks in service, it is expected that these 
will be furnished by his country. Mr. Rolierts' allusion thm 
must be, I presume, that these necessary materials and ingre- 
dients were supplied " through the extraortlinary exertions and 
co-operation" of President Madison and Mr. Monroe. Well, sup- 
pose this to be just as he would have it, is the credit of the 
defence the less on that account? Are the galhint officers of our 
navy indebted to the Secretary of the navy for their brilliant 
successes. Hull, in the first naval victory achieved, was on 
board a frigate built and armed by his government, and well 
supplieiJ with munitions of war. Such also was the case with 
Bainbridge and Decatur. Yet the destruction of the Guerriere, 
and the Java; and the subsequent capture of the Macedonian, 
were not ascribed to the " extraordinary exertions and co-opera- 
tion" of any body. It was yielded, as justly it should have 
been, to the gallant commanders of our ships. The successful 
battles of Chi[)pewa and Lundy's lane, and the brilliant defence 
of Fort Erie, was never ch.irged " to the extraordinary exer- 
tions and co-o[)eraiion"ofthc President and his Cabinet, althoiigh 
men, money and arms were furnished. If then all these things 
had been most liberally supplied at New Orleans, by every rule 



21 

of right, whatever credit flowed from a successful battle and 
defence, could belong only to those, who were present and waged 
it, not to those whose distance from the scene of action wassuch 
as that thf'j could not even catch the sound of the battle. 

If every thing contained in this charge of Mr. Roberts were 
true, — were worthy of belief, even to the extent that he would 
have it to be believed, it in no wise alters the matter, nor detracts 
from Andrew Jackson any thing of that merit which every where 
by his country has been conceded to him. But it is not true; 
and I challenge the records in the war department, to which Mr. 
Roberts can readily obtain access, to disprove the assertion. 
Nay, 1 go further, and say, that every thing of credit and of 
merit, as well in the preparation for defence, as in the defence 
itself, belongs exclusively and alone to Jackson, and to those 
brave officers and men, who contended with him. 

As early as August, 1S14, directly after the Creek war had 
been concluded, through the treaty made at Fort Jackson, the 
Secretary of War was written to, and apprised of the wants under 
which the general was labouring. He says, " 1 am destitute of 
funds, nor can procure them. There is not in the hands of the 
quarter-master, money sufficient to purchase an express horse, 
my present means are so limited ; with a sickly climate to com- 
bat, as well as an enemy, without the means of transportation, 
to change the position of my army, my whole reliance is on the 
bravery of my little phalanx. You must afford the means, or I 
cannot be successful." 

At this period, and to the time of its reduction, Pensacola was 
truly a British port. Officers of England were seen there drilling 
and preparing troops for action; and the expedition which made 
an assault upon Mobile point, had not merely been fitted out 
from that place, but likewise after its defeat, had returned there. 
Jackson, foreseeing the danger which threatened Mobile and the 
contiguous country, — satisfied that Spain through such permission 
was not merely surrendering her neutrality, but was in fact vio- 
lating the treaty stipulation of 1795, felt it to be necessary to 
reduce Pensacola, and only waited for permission to do so. 
Time after time he wrote, and not merely urged, but implored 
permission to take possession of a point which threatened to the 
South Western section of the country so much, and so great dan- 
ger. At last, when no reply could be procured, when nothing of 
consent or refusal could be obtained, he determined for himself, 
and taking possession of the port of Pensacola, dislodged the ene- 
my, and compelled Spain to the maintainance of her neutrality. 

This was an important blow for the defence and security of 
New Orleans, in which Jackson alone had any agency ; without 
it, Florida would have remained a resting point, and rendezvous 



22 

(o the British. There preparation would have been made, and 
thence, when all was ready, descents have been projected, too 
rapidly and well timed, to have been resisted. But the advance 
made there, brought the enemy to the conclusion, that under 
rover of the neutrality of Spain nothing further could be conceal- 
ed, and beside this, it was altogether " too unsafe a place to 
resort, now that the defence of Fort Barancas had been destroyed : 
the consequence was, that the British fleet were dependant entirely 
on other resources, and were driven to seek an anchorage at Cat 
Island in the gulf, where they reposed during the siege, and 
where they had nothing to fear, because without the reach of 
danger from us. 

This descent upon Pensacola, which under all the circumstan- 
ces, was a most important movement in the defence of Orleans, 
was entirely by the determination of Jackson himself. The men 
were raised by himself, and money for the quarter master pro- 
cured through exertions of his friends at Nashville, acting upon 
his request. 

It is true the government were either so tardy in decision, or 
so fearful of the consequences incident on an otTence to Spain, 
that to the repeated suggestions of Jackson of the necessity of 
breaking up this resting place of Great Britain, no answer, no 
permission could be had, although by the course pursued, she 
had long before evidently forsaken every thing like neutral po- 
licy. It remained at last for him to take the step on his own 
responsibility ; and upon his own responsibility to concentrate 
the means necessary to its eflcctuation. 

About this period it was that Jackson addressed himself press- 
ingly every where to procure for his country the means ot de- 
fence. In a letter to Mr. Blount, who was at that time Governor 
of Tennessee, he says, " I shall be very thankful for any volun- 
teers, and in any shape you may be pleased to send them. Our 
country needs them. 1 had hoped, and do still hope, to see you 
stand forth in a patriotic appeal to the citizens of Tennessee, in- 
viting them to the field to save their country from subjugation 
and ruin. We have too long rested in feeling, unsupported by 

f)roper action. By misplaced confidence our capitol has been 
ost, and we shall not recover the national disgrace, unless ener- 
gy becomes the order of the day." 

The latter part of October he addressed the Governor of Loui- 
siana : " The exposed state of the coast from New Orleans to 
Pass Huron, and ihe precarintts situalion of tnr/ supplies here caus- 
ed me great uneasiness, and kept my little force stationary for 
its protection. I hope shortly to visit you ; in the mean time let 
me reiterate, that vigilance and energy is necessary to defend a 
country." 



23 

To the Secretary of War he says, " The city of New Orleans 
has addressed me, calling for additional defence ; my whole force 
would not satisfy the demands they make." 

Again in another letter he remarks : '' I have been using every 
exertion in my power to have a train of artillery prepared for 
active service in the field. I find it on examination here (Mobile) 
not only out of repair, but entirely unfit for service. The car- 
riages from exposure to the weather are entirely decayed, and 
unable to support the pieces." 

He also despatched Colonel Butler, a confidential officer, to 
Tennessee, to endeavour by every practicable means to prevail 
on her citizens to take the field and press to his relief. In his 
letter of instructions to him he employs this language : " I have 
called on all the militia I am authorized by the government, and 
I now enclose an appeal to the patriotism of my fellow citizens, 
and hope to see my former comrades in arms again in the field, 
bravely defending the eagles of their country. For, believe me, 
we have to defend not only our territory, but our liberties. 
From the confidential information I possess, 1 have no doubt but 
the whole coalition are engaged in a league to subjugate America. 
I mean to make a desperate struggle." 

Let any man of thought and reflection go back to this period 
of our history, and say if the difficulties of the moment were not 
such as to have depressed and sunk down any man not gifted 
with the most extraordinary powers of mind and action. The 
information confidentially received was, that a large force had 
embarked from England, destined for the southern coast of the 
United States. At this moment he was without money, and with- 
out arms ; without men, and without the munitions of war. Thus 
situated, he forwarded expresses to Tennessee, where he pro- 
cured funds from the banks, and whence General Coffee, with 
his mounted volunteers, hastened to join him. There was no time 
to be lost. Where the enemy would strike could not be told. 
Immediately he marched against Pensacola, and having reduced 
it, returned ; placed Mobile in the best defence he could, and 
departing, arrived at New Orleans, on the 1st day of December. 

Jackson was now at the grand point of expected attack. The 
city guards, a few regular troops, and General Coffee's volun- 
teers, who had followed on from Mobile, constituted that whole 
" defensive force prepared for New Orleans." The militia from 
Tennessee had not arrived, and did not arrive until the 22d day 
of December, one day previous to the landing of the British, 
and those from Kentucky, reached the city on the 4th of January, 
just in time for the decisive action of the Sth. The forts were to 
be repaired, and the negroes of the planters were employed for 
that purpose. The Bayous and inlets were to be obstructed to 



24 

guard against secret approach. No ordnance was at hand, ex- 
cept what could be procured through the officers of the Navy. 
Guns could not be had to place in the hands of our unarmed 
troops ; and of those which were there, flints to place in them 
were not at hand. From the pirates at Barataria, throu2;h their 
leader Lafite, whose services Jackson had secured by promise 
of a pardon made to him, seven thousand had fortunately been 
procured; and but for this piece of good fortune and accident, 
instead of the proud pleasure felt for the termination of the bat- 
tle of the 8th, it would have returned each year to us, a day of 
sorrow and of mourning. 

Such was the ^tate of preparation when Jackson reached the 
city of New Orleans; and such, indeed, it continued to the ter- 
mination of the invasion, only so far as his own exertions enabled 
him to effect an alteration. For the truth of which let his letter 
to the Secretary of War of the 3d of January, five days before 
the battle of the 8th, be appealed to. This is its language : 
" Again I must apprise you, that the arms 1 have been so long 
expecting, have not arrived. All we hear of them is, that they 
are on the river, and that the man who has been entrusted with 
their transportation, has halted on the way for the purpose of 
private speculation. Depend upon it, this supineness, this negli- 
gence, this criminality let me call it, of which we witness so 
many instances in the agents of government, must finally lead, if 
it be not corrected, to the defeat of our armies, and to the dis- 
grace of those who superintend them. It is impossible 1 should 
not feel the utmost solicitude, and even uneasiness on the occa- 
sion. Every reliance may be placed on the bravery of my men, 
but without arms it is impossible they can etlect much. The 
Kentucky troops have been delayed by adverse winds, but when 
they come, not more than a third arc armed, and those indiller- 
cntly. 1 have none? to place in their hands." 

In the facts detailed in this letter, there is no mistake. The 
captain of the boat who undertook to be the carrier of the arms, 
on reaching New Orleans, after all the danger had subsided, de- 
fended his tardiness on the way, by showing the contract he had 
entered into with the agent of the government, which secured to 
him the right of tarrying on the road with a view lo his own 
^'■privulf sptculalion.'''' And if this, at so critical and dangerous 
a periotl, seems too marvellous for liclief, a reference to the ar- 
chives of the War Department will establish its accuracy. 

On the 15th of February, after the bailie's strife had ended, 
and only three days before the enemy yielded the contest and 
reiircd hum our shores, Jackson again addressed the Secretary 
of War. Spcakir)g of the facility with which the entire British 
army, after th-.' 8lh, might have been captured, and not a man ot 



25 

ihem escaped, if arms to place in the hands of the troops had 
been furnished, he remarks : " I am sensible, however, that we 
have a thousand times greater cause to rejoice, than to repine. 
Heaven, to be sure, has interposed most wonderfully in our be- 
half, and I am filled with gratitude when 1 look back to what we 
have escaped ; yet I grieve that we did not with more wisdom 
and more industry, use the means with which she had blessed 
us. Again and again I must repeat, we have been always too 
backward with our preparations. When the enemy comes we 
begin to think of driving him away, and scarcely before." 

Here then is that " extraordinary exertion," that state of pre- 
paration, of which Mr. Roberts speaks ; a preparation so full and 
so complete, as that nothing remained for General Jackson on 
his arrival at New Orleans, but to fight. Wonderful accuracy 
indeed. Truly as it relates to facts, Mr. Roberts would make a 
most intolerable historian. The cemmon legends of olden time 
would be better entitled to confidence ; but it seems the General 
was not merely ordered, but was in fact " urged to repair there.'''' 
The accusation intended to be made, the inference designed to 
be adduced is, that the importance of the Mississippi had never 
occurred to him, and that he was planning and arranging the 
defence of points of infinitely less importance ; and was at last 
found at the city of New Orleans for the reason onlj', that he 
was ''^ urged to repair there,'''' 1 am sorry to have occasion to re- 
mark that this is ^not true either; it is precisely of a piece with the 
'^ rest of the publication. In support of the assertion made, 1 refer 
to, and quote the Secretary's own words, on the day after impor- 
tant information had reached the city of Washington; they are 
these : " Intelligence was yesterday received from Cuba of the 
9th ult. that the British force from that Bay under Admiral 
Cochrane, had united at Jamaica, with other troops, and had 
sailed, or were on the point of sailing to make an attack on New 
Orleans. It is hoped you will have long since taken a suitable 
position on the river, to afford complete protection to that city. 
Mobile is comparatively a trifling object with the British govern- 
ment. Your presence at such a point on the river will be of vital 
importance. It will inspire the inhabitants with confidence, and 
enervate them with vigorous exertions." 

This letter, or order, if Mr. Roberts prefers to call it so, bears 
date on the 10th of December, 1814, and was forwarded by Dr. 
Cozens, express from the city, though he never got farther than 
Nashville in Tennessee. A duplicate was hurried through an- 
other express, who got sick on the road, and wrote back to know 
what he should do with his despatches. It is believf^d that upon 
this subject no other order is to be found on file in the War De- 
partment : it is asserted that none other order was ever received^ 

4 



26 

Now it will be borne in mind that General Jackson arrived, and 
took command at New Orleans on the first day of December ; 
ergo, he could not have " been urged to repair there" in conse- 
quence of an order which issued twelve hundred miles distance 
from him, ten days previously. Even before the day that it was 
wh'itten, Jackson through his spies in the South, had obtained in- 
telligence of the views and designs of the enemy; had weakened 
their intended assault, through the reduction of Pensacola, 
strengthened Mobile and Fort Bowyer, and reached the point of 
expected attack. Already had he been at that place, preparing, 
arranging, and concentrating the resources within his reach, ten 
days before the letter, or order, was written at Washington ; nor 
could it have reached him until about the time that his decisive 
battle was fought, and had been gained. It is again clearly mani- 
fest then, that Mr. Roberts is wrong ; and that General Jackson 
was not at his post through any order from the President and 
Secretary of War, which " urged him to repair there." His 
conduct and acts alone proceeded from himself, the suggestions of 
his own mind and judgment. His preparations were the effect of 
his own exertions, and his success the result of that confidence 
which his firmness and untiring zeal every where inspired. 

Two charges remain to be replied to, when I shall have gotten 
through with the catalogue submitted by Mr. Roberts. It is 
charged that pending the enquiry before Congress of the Semi- 
nole campaign, Jackson appeared at the city of Washington, 
while it was a subject of discussion and legislative enquiry, and 
that it was an evidence of want of respect for the public authori- 
ties. Wonderful ! ! most wonderful ! ! 

By the constitution of this country, every individual is secure, 
in his life, liberty and property. He is protected in the privi- 
lege of speech, and in the freedom of the press ; nor has the 
right of any, to travel where they please, been Liefore questioned; 
but agreeably to Mr. Roberts' republican theory, you may not 
appear at the capitol of the Union where congress sits, or else it 
is " want of respect to the public authorities." I believe the con- 
stitution of every state secures to a party accused, the right of 
speedy trial, and of being confronted with accusers; yet let con- 
gress become the accusing power, a body privileged and unan- 
swerable for any thing they say or do, and then by Mr. Roberts' 
standard of political ethics, an appearance of the party accused, 
to defend, and to explain, and to justify to his friends his course, 
" is want of respect for the public authorities." Apart from any 
other consideration, this would seem a sufficient answer to the 
charge preferred. A further answer however will he found in 
this; that Washington City was within Jackson's division, and 
that by the rules and usages of the army, he had a right to go 



27 

at any time he pleased to any part of that division without the 
sanction or permission of any one. Besides this, there is one 
fact, which Mr. Roberts being then a member of Congress can- 
not have forgotten ; that such was the prudence and caution of 
Jackson — his desire to manifest nothing " of want of respect for 
the public authorities" that pending the enquiry before congress 
of this Seminole campaign, he never appeared on the floor of 
either House, where by the rules of both, he had the right and 
privilege to be. In this course of respectful forbearance, was 
certainly and clearly manifested, " an evidence of his respect for 
the public authorities,''^ certainly nothing of disrespect. 

The last charge to be adverted to, like all the others that have 
been noticed, requires some higher authority than the mere 
assertion of the writer to obtain for it confidence. It is alleged, 
that " as governor of Florida, men were banished, and subse- 
quently imprisoned under his good pleasure, and released by the 
President." Here I take the liberty of soliciting the proofs of 
an assertion so bold. 1 say there are none. The charge is 
untrue. Law and right, not "Aw good pleasure,''^ were the cause. 

A treaty had been concluded with Spain ; and by virtue of an 
act of congress, and commission from the President of the United 
States, General Jackson became governor of Florida; and in 
July, 1821, took possession of the country. By the 7th article 
of that treaty it was stipulated as follows : The officers and troops 
of His Catholic Majesty, in the territory hereby ceded to the United 
States, shall be withdrawn, and possession of the places occupied by 
them, given within sice months, <$/-c." 

It is unnecessary to state to Mr. Roberts, that as an official 
organ of the government, General Jackson was bound to regard 
the laws ; nor is it necessary to tell him, that by our constitution 
all treaties become parts of our laws. Unquestionably then, it 
was the duty of the governor to cause the treaty to be executed, 
and carried fully into effect. The article referred to, stipulates 
for two things. 

1st. That the officers and troops of Spain should be withdrawn 
in six months. 

2d. That occupied places should be surrendered. A disre- 
gard and neglect of either provision was a violation of the stipu- 
lations of the treaty which the governor should not have sanc- 
tioned. 

On the 29th of September, 1821, Jackson as governor of Flori- 
da, issued his proclamation requiring three Spanish officers who 
had remained at Pensacola, and who were included in the provi- 
sions of the treaty, to depart the territory. It was their duty to 
have done so before; and failing to do so, it was Jackson's 



28 

to see that the treaty was complied with. But another and 
stronger reason operated. 

In deciding the case of two orphan children, whose rights 
under the Spanish government had been long refviscd, and pro- 
perty withheld from them, Jackson sitting as judge, and before 
whom the trial was pending, had required the original will under 
which those orphans claimed to be produced. The former 
governor who took possession of it, and who claimer, to retain it 
as an official paper, caused the mandate of the court to be dis- 
obeyed. Conciliatory steps were resorted to, but these failing, 
the governor was imprisoned for a contempt, and remained in 
prison a short time until the will was obtained ; after which he 
'was discharged. The Sp.inish governor having remained in 
Florida beyond the time, that he should, by the treaty, have 
retired from the country, could be considered in no other light 
than any private man. He was amenable to the laws and sub- 
ject to the rules and orders of the court, as any other citizen of 
the country. A citizen refusing to deliver a paper under order 
of a court is guilty of contempt and ma}'^ be imprisoned ; there is 
no reason why this former governor, then no longer representing 
the authority of Spain, should have been suflVred to claim any 
higher privilege. The will was obtained, imd the property of 
these orphans thereby secured to them, which under a diflerent 
course would have been lost. 

Soon afterwards a violent and inflammatory publication ap- 
peared, assailing Jackson and tending to bring into disrespect the 
civil authority. It was ascertained to be the labour of three 
Spanish officers. In this country we understand, that to print 
and publish with a view to control judicial investigation is 
wrong ; and instances are not wanting where the authors have 
"been severely punished. Some of the most intelligent and re- 
flecting men entertained the opinion, that for this high aggression, 
those Spanish officers should be sent to prison. Jackson how- 
ever, who so often has been declared bold to rashness, deter- 
mined otherwise ; and adopting the milder course, F'equired, 05 by 
the treaty they were bound, ihsii they should betake themselvos from 
the country. Mis mandate was obeyed. Subsequently iwo of 
them returned, when they were arrested \)y Mr. VVoIkm), then 
the acting governor, and restricted lo their houses on their p irole 
of honour ; but not put in prison as is alleged. At this lime Jack- 
son was not governor of Florida. He was at Mashville in 1 en- 
nessee, about 400 miles from Pensaeola. 

The facts concisely then, in which alone Mr. Roberts ran 
repose for proof of his strong assertion, arc theSe : on the 29th 
of September, the proclamation issued, requiring those Spanish 
officers, for n rontempt offiired to the court, to leave tlie coun- 



29 

try. Subsequently General Jackson retired from Florida to 
Tennessee, and on the 13th of November, forwarded to the 
President his resignation of governor of the territory ; leaving 
Mr. Walton, a worthy and competent man, the acting governor. 
Between the 1st and 7th of January those Spanish officers re- 
turned, when by Mr. Walton they were required upon honour 
to remain in their houses, until further advices could be re- 
ceived ; and there they did remain until the President directed 
them to be discharged. Yet, says Mr. Roberts " they were 
banished, and subsequently imprisoned at his good pleasure." 

As it regards the attempt of Mr. Roberts to excite the citizens 
of Kentucky, I feel confident they will neither applaud nor 
thank him. The subject he has selected is a family matter of 
their own, and he greatly errs in knowledge of her people, if he 
supposes they have any use for him as an auxiliary and helper 
in their afiairs. The retreat which took place on the left bank 
of the river, is well understood to have been communicated to 
the commanding general by those who were present ; and upon 
that information the report was made to the secretary of war. 
A court was subsequently organized, excused the retreat of the 
tfoops, on the ground that they were enfeebled greatly by their 
position, and by the weak condition of the line behind which 
they acted. On this ground the decision of the court placed the 
matter: the proceedings were approved by General Jackson, 
and tliere history has also placed it. He has in all his general 
orders spoken of the troops of Kentucky, in the way that the 
country at large has spoken of them, as a brave and high minded 
people. Mr. Roberts though in the hope of exciting prejudice, 
finds it convenient to travel by all that can be found on this sub- 
ject, and to take for his text, the words " ingloriously fled." 

Already has more been said, than was designed at the com- 
mencement of this address. If any shall peruse the remarks 
submitted, they will have cause greatly to wonder how it was, 
that Mr. Roberts could plunge himself into so many and so 
various errors : and be more surprised too that he should act so 
inconsiderately as to give his name to the assertions he has 
offered. Should his future course be, to become again an instruct- 
or to the public, care and caution should prompt him, at least to 
be accurate and particular in his facts, to be controlled by reason, 
not by prejudice. With your pardon for the trouble afforded 
to you, 

I am respectfully, 

JOHN H. EATON. 

Franklin, Tenn. Aug. 30, 1826. 



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